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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Gilles-et-de-l'Assomption, located in Rochefort-en-Yvelines, was built in the 11th and 12th centuries on the side of a hill by Gui I of Rochefort. Originally dedicated to Saint Gilles, it consisted of a unique nave, a choir and a bedside. Its Romanesque architecture, typical of the time, reflects a vocation both religious and defensive, characteristic of the fortified churches of the region.

Over the centuries, the church was enriched with a side chapel dedicated to the Virgin, which was called the Assumption. A chapel of the Princes, later added, housed the burials of the Rohan family until 1793, testifying to its connection with the local aristocracy. In 1648, murals decorated the choir, while similar remains remained in the chapel of Sainte-Anne, built in the early seventeenth century as a funeral chapel.

Major works were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries: repair of the structure and vaults in 1864, expansion of the cemetery in 1867, and attribution of the term definitive of the Assumption in 1893. The southern side door, a remarkable architectural element, was classified as a historical monument by order of 1 February 1937. Today, the church remains a symbol of the religious and historical heritage of the Yvelines, with recent efforts for its maintenance, such as the subscription launched in the years 2020.

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